25- to 34-year-olds hunt bargains more than brands

Want to bust a stereotype? Just track the shopping habits of the 25- to 34-year-old age group.

You're more likely to find them in the aisles at Wal-Mart or Lowe's than at H&M or Sephora, according to a new study published by Barkley, a Missouri-based advertising and marketing agency.

The agency dug into consumer records and attitude surveys covering about 10.8 million Americans in the older half of the millennial generation.

The agency found some things that ran counter to the common image of millennials as brand- and trend-conscious consumers.

Some of them are. But there's nothing like a baby to turn a shopper into a pragmatist.

"Let's remind ourselves that the oldest millennials became young adults around 1999," said David Gutting, strategy director at Barkley. "They have experienced the dot-com bust, Sept. 11, and large banking and housing crises."

The Barkley research centered on the older millennials, the 25-and-older group who are most likely to be raising children. About 7 percent retained what researchers called the "image first" stereotype, prizing trendy brand names and being early adopters of new technology.

"Peer affirmation" is important. In other words, the report indicates, if young parents find a great deal on diapers, they're likely to use digital tools to share the sale news with friends.